All questions tagged Deloitte - Consulting Q&A - PrepLounge.com

Hi,

It's a very standard written case interview.

I've uploaded some samples here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zor4m49eyx5qxal/AABeUN6mtiGkWhEklRjszX2Oa?dl=0

(message me for a password)

The best way to prepare is the following:

1. Prepare for a regular case interview - it helps a lot. Basically, prep lounge website is about it
2. Practice making slides. Look for publically available MBB presentations for reference. Good books are "Pyramid Principle" and "How to make it with charts"
3. Practice reading cases fast and prioritizing the information. I found useful two sources:

• Written cases you'll be able to find in google or in case books. I've seen a couple in "Vault Guide to the Case Interview" and "Insead Business Admission Test"
• Harvard cases - either buy or try to find online. You can find a couple of MIT cases here for free: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/LearningEdge/Pages/Case-Studies.aspx Unfortunately free cases don't have the prep questions.

The appropriate structure for BCG written case is (However you should check the format with the company you are applying to):

Slide 1: Context, Objective, Recommendations

Slide 2-4: Analysis (Usually 1 slide with a table, 1 slide with graphs and 1 slide with pros and cons)

Slide 5: Next steps or risks & mitigation

Good luck!

Hi Neeraj,
McKinsey has two public-sector cases on their website (https://www.mckinsey.com/careers/interviewing). You could start with them.

Have a look at casebooks from business schools (Wharton, Kellogg, etc.). They often have some public sector cases. You may begin with reading one or two cases first so that you get an understanding of how to approach these cases.

Good luck with your prep!
Regards,
Daniel

Hi Nick,

honestly, given the data I believe there is a flaw somewhere in the case. Why not contact them to find out?

Best regards

Hi,

Next to asking this question here, I would advise you to reach out to the recruiter/HR-person/contactperson to ask what is expected of you and how you can best prepare.

Jorrit

Sorry, what's the question exactly?

Hi,

Based on the description, it may be closer to the PE / IB M&A interview that is much more technical and detailed in the financial part. Usually, they give you much more time to prepare and do the valuation on paper / excel. Depending on the company you'll need to:

• Find the relevant information in P&L, Balance sheet, CF statement
• Do the simplified valuation using NPV: calculate cash flows and make assumptions about growth rate and discount rate
• Do the valuation using comps - you'll have to explain which comps you will use and why
• Do the valuation of the synergies
• Play with different scenarios (e.g. how the stock-price will change if the deal terms leak into media, or how should the companies behave in a bidding process)

There are two types of frameworks you may use:

1. Commercial due-diligence of the target company
2. Synergies calculation of two merging companies

Note also that it can be a mix of both.

1. For Due Diligence you can use the following structure:

Market

• Size
• Growth rates
• Profitability
• Segments
• Distribution channels

Competition

• Market shares of competitors and their segments (see the next point)
• Concentration / fragmentation (Fragmented market with lots of small players is less mature and easier to enter from a scratch. Concentrated market is hard to enter but has potential acquisition targets)
• Unit economics of the players (Margins, relative cost position)
• Key capabilities of the players (e.g. suppliers, assets, IP, etc)

Company

• Unit economics (Margins, costs) in current or target markets
• Brand
• Product mix
• Key capabilities

Feasibility of exit (in case of a PE company):

• Exit multiples
• Exit time
• Existence of buyers
• Risks

2. For Synergies Calculation you can use the following structure:

1. Revenue synergies - here you calculate the synergies in price and quantity (depending on the case it may be new geographies, new products, new distribution channels, bigger share on shelves crosselling opportunities, etc.)
2. Cost synergies - typically you use a value chain structure tailored to the industry (e.g. supply-production-distribution-marketing-after sales support)
3. Financial synergies - working capital, capital structure, tax
4. Risks - major risks that can decrease the synergies (tip: don't underestimate the merging companies culture factor)
5. Total synergies potential in $, adjusted by risk (probability of failure)

Good luck!

Hi,

Here I've uploaded some written case samples (Message me for a password)

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zor4m49eyx5qxal/AABeUN6mtiGkWhEklRjszX2Oa?dl=0

The best way to prepare is the following:

1. Check if the calculator is allowed. So far it was. If not - you have to train mental math. I posted the main tips here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/tips-to-do-big-multiplications-in-my-mind-726#a1422
2. Prepare for a regular case interview - it helps a lot. Basically, prep lounge website is about it
3. Practice reading cases fast and prioritizing the information. I found useful two sources:

• Written cases you'll be able to find in google or in case books. I've seen a couple in "Vault Guide to the Case Interview" and "Insead Business Admission Test"
• Harvard cases - either buy or try to find online. You can find a couple of MIT cases here for free: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/LearningEdge/Pages/Case-Studies.aspx Unfortunately free cases don't have the prep questions.

Good luck!

Hi Anonymous,

The notion of prestige is debatable, but assuming it refers to the general perception of the brand, the only two firms with a strong consulting brand between the Big 4 are Deloitte thanks to the acquisition of Monitor (merged also as a brand name) and PwC thanks to the acquisition of Booz (not merged as a brand name), as also mentioned by Julien. Before such acquisition, Deloitte had already a consulting arm. The general perception of the two firms is therefore generally based on the following:

1. Booz was generally considered stronger than Monitor;
2. Strategy& is branded separated from PwC, while Monitor is not from Deloitte;
3. Deloitte did have a consulting arm before the acquisition, while PwC did not.

The first two elements support PwC while the latter Deloitte, so you will probably find people who will consider Strategy&/PwC superior and others that will consider Monitor/Deloitte superior as of today. This in general terms; at local level, things could be perceived differently, and in certain geographies PwC/Strategy would be considered definitely better than Monitor/Deloitte, and the other way round.

At the following link you can also find a comparison between the different firms based on some other criteria. In their review, they put Deloitte as top for consulting, but since the Strategy& brand is separated from PwC, that’s again debatable:

http://news.efinancialcareers.com/uk-en/204621/working-for-pwc-deloitte-ey-and-kpmg-whats-the-difference

Besides an analysis of prestige, I think it could also be useful for you to consider exit opportunities (in many countries, consultants stay 2-3 years, so that’s not such a remote option even if you are still considering where to go). The simplest thing to analyse that would be to take a look to LinkedIn and check which have been the exit paths for people coming from Strategy& and Monitor Deloitte in your target geography.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

Hi Anonymous,

Big 4 and MBB have a different focus in terms of projects. Specifically, Big 4 work more on implementation projects rather than strategy. However, many of the Big 4 have now also a strategy branch, thanks to the acquisition of Booz (PwC), Monitor (Deloitte) and Parthenon (EY), thus moving towards strategy and more direct competition with Tier 1 and Tier 2 companies. When they overlap, competition is mainly price based – MBB are far more expensive than Big 4 for a client.

In general, compared to Big 4, in MBB you get:

• Higher competition
• Stronger alumni network
• Higher pay (may depend by the country)
• Longer hours (may depend by the country)
• Shorter project, more strategy focus
• Support for extra stuff – there are specific MBB department for research and you can outsource most boring activity (eg slides realignment)
• On average, higher budget for travel
• More exposure to CXO level

Best,

Francesco

On the Deloitte application process, note the following key points:

• The interview starts with a company presentation, where the candidates can ask first questions they have about Deloitte.
• This is followed by three rounds of interviews: one personal fit interview and two case interviews. During the case interview, you get a written case study and have 30 minutes time to prepare before you discuss the case for about 45 minutes with a consultant from Deloitte. This is your chance to show them not only your analytical skills, but also your ability to deal with numbers and to develop solutions for complex issues.
• If you make it to the next, final round of the interview, another case interview will follow. For that you have one hour preparation time after which you will have to present your results within a group presentation. The interviewers will watch the process of the discussion and how you participate in it. Then you will get the chance to convince a Deloitte partner or director in a personal interview and hopefully by the end you will get a job offer from Deloitte.

Regards,

Astrid

PrepLounge Community Management

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Hi,

The only real difference of BCG vs McKinsey for you will be the location close to the office. And the McK brand.

For the location - you will be traveling most of the time and will not spend a lot of time at the office, so you can always take a flight to your parents place anyway.

The difference in salary is not important since on the other side McKinsey has faster growth. McKinsey has unpaid leave. Headspace subscription - are you serious about this benefit? (even if mck doesn't have it its just 30$ a month). People are the same and different everywhere.

I would not give you the answer since I am obviously a biased McK person, but most of the reasons that you've provided here are either subjective or unpredictable.

Best

Hi A,

My suggestion is to use BCG Potential test or GMAT guides to prepare for Monitor Deloitte's test.

It should be similar to them with calculations, text interpretation and algebra problems.

All the best,
Egor

Hi TR!

So, this looks quite intimidating but actually it not very difficult to do - you just need to break the information down.

I'm not sure about the format they want your answer presented in, but if this is a P&L statement here is how I would format the information:

All revenue and cost streams form the headings for the rows (group revenue together first, then add a totals row, then list the costs below and a total row for costs below, and finally a profit column at the bottom), the four different carriers as column headings (and a totals column at the end). Then start filling in.

Your revenue streams are: Post-paid phone commission, accessories commision (per attachment, so multiply by attachment rate per phone), average price.

Your costs are: marketing, distribution/storage, overhead, kiosk rent, employee/staffing.

Separate them for the two type of plans (I am assuming this is what they refer to when asking for two business model options).

The last step is to fill in your worksheet(s). You'll need to use different graphs for the different costs/revenues, but overall doesn't look difficult - just a fair amount of work.

Good luck! Any more questions, just ask.

Hi,

• With 5 years of experience in tech consulting, you can apply directly to Mck / BCG digital teams.
• You don't need an MBA since it will not be a career transition (you are already a consultant in that sense) and you have enough years of experience.
• Manager role is nice to have but not mandatory as well (since you'll be most probably downgraded to the consultant anyway)

Best

Hi Louay,

there are normally two tests you have to do at Deloitte:

• Numerical: 20 questions in 20 minutes
• Verbal: 24 questions in 18 minutes

SHL should be ok as preparation for both. You can find a more detailed description at the following link at Step 3:

https://www.graduatesfirst.com/portfolio-items/deloitte/

Best,

Francesco

Hi Louay,

as far as I know, Deloitte will require you to take 2 online reasoning tests, namely, Numerical Test and Verbal Reasoning Test. These are administered by Kenexa (formerly PSL). The Kenexa format is commonly used in investment banking and also in the consulting industry.

The Numerical Test consists of 20 questions with 20 minute time limit. You can go back and forth and change the answers (but don’t do it). The level of difficulty varies and proper preparation using tutorials is a must! The best place to learn how to get a top score is probably GraduateMonkey (just google the name). You will need to look for a Kenexa type tutorial they have.

The Verbal Reasoning Test consists of 24 questions to be answered in 18 minutes. The key is to read the questions very quickly FIRST then look for answers in the paragraphs. You will still need a lot of practice and proper tutorial. Assessmentday practice tests should be good to practice.

Cheers, Sidi

Hi,

Based on the description, it may be closer to the PE / IB M&A interview that is much more technical and detailed in the financial part. Usually, they give you much more time to prepare and do the valuation on paper / excel. Depending on the company you'll need to:

• Find the relevant information in P&L, Balance sheet, CF statement
• Do the simplified valuation using NPV: calculate cash flows and make assumptions about growth rate and discount rate
• Do the valuation using comps - you'll have to explain which comps you will use and why
• Do the valuation of the synergies
• Play with different scenarios (e.g. how the stock-price will change if the deal terms leak into media, or how should the companies behave in a bidding process)

There are two types of frameworks you may use:

1. Commercial due-diligence of the target company
2. Synergies calculation of two merging companies

Note also that it can be a mix of both.

1. For Due Diligence you can use the following structure:

Market

• Size
• Growth rates
• Profitability
• Segments
• Distribution channels

Competition

• Market shares of competitors and their segments (see the next point)
• Concentration / fragmentation (Fragmented market with lots of small players is less mature and easier to enter from a scratch. Concentrated market is hard to enter but has potential acquisition targets)
• Unit economics of the players (Margins, relative cost position)
• Key capabilities of the players (e.g. suppliers, assets, IP, etc)

Company

• Unit economics (Margins, costs) in current or target markets
• Brand
• Product mix
• Key capabilities

Feasibility of exit (in case of a PE company):

• Exit multiples
• Exit time
• Existence of buyers
• Risks

2. For Synergies Calculation you can use the following structure:

1. Revenue synergies - here you calculate the synergies in price and quantity (depending on the case it may be new geographies, new products, new distribution channels, bigger share on shelves crosselling opportunities, etc.)
2. Cost synergies - typically you use a value chain structure tailored to the industry (e.g. supply-production-distribution-marketing-after sales support)
3. Financial synergies - working capital, capital structure, tax
4. Risks - major risks that can decrease the synergies (tip: don't underestimate the merging companies culture factor)
5. Total synergies potential in $, adjusted by risk (probability of failure)

Good luck!